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emily_mh's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
I am brand new to reading novels-in-verse, so take this review with a grain of salt.
A lot of the poems here only felt like poems because they were written in the style where one sentence is spread (somewhat randomly) over multiple lines. There wasn’t anything inherently poetic about them, they were just
prose sentences
written like
this.
And the line breaks weren’t really used to poetic effect either. It made me think that this book would have been much more effective as a prose novel, as the verse format didn’t help the story in any way.
I know that Pinkney wrote in verse in order to write about genocide and war in a way appropriate for MGs. However, I think it went too far the other way, so that a MG with no prior knowledge of the Janjaweed or the genocide in Darfur would have no idea what was going on. There needed to be more clarity instead of nebulous references.
The book unfortunately concludes without having wrapped up many loose ends. There needed to be a few more poems at least to round out Amira’s journey (both in plot and character).
While I obviously struggled with some parts of this book, there were others I enjoyed. The poetry was sometimes clever with its repetition of motifs; this was especially evident towards the end, where Pinkney tied these together. I also liked the drawings provided by Evans. He managed to emulate a child-like style so that we could see the world through Amira both in the poetry and illustrations. I also appreciated the theme of the healing power of art: how art is both an outlet and a way to process emotions and trauma. Finally, the characterisation of Amira was well-done. While sometimes the verse acted unintentionally to separate the reader from Amira and her feelings, Pinkney did write a believable 12 year-old girl, whose narrative voice shone through.
Rep: Black Muslim Sudanese MC and SCs
A lot of the poems here only felt like poems because they were written in the style where one sentence is spread (somewhat randomly) over multiple lines. There wasn’t anything inherently poetic about them, they were just
prose sentences
written like
this.
And the line breaks weren’t really used to poetic effect either. It made me think that this book would have been much more effective as a prose novel, as the verse format didn’t help the story in any way.
I know that Pinkney wrote in verse in order to write about genocide and war in a way appropriate for MGs. However, I think it went too far the other way, so that a MG with no prior knowledge of the Janjaweed or the genocide in Darfur would have no idea what was going on. There needed to be more clarity instead of nebulous references.
The book unfortunately concludes without having wrapped up many loose ends. There needed to be a few more poems at least to round out Amira’s journey (both in plot and character).
While I obviously struggled with some parts of this book, there were others I enjoyed. The poetry was sometimes clever with its repetition of motifs; this was especially evident towards the end, where Pinkney tied these together. I also liked the drawings provided by Evans. He managed to emulate a child-like style so that we could see the world through Amira both in the poetry and illustrations. I also appreciated the theme of the healing power of art: how art is both an outlet and a way to process emotions and trauma. Finally, the characterisation of Amira was well-done. While sometimes the verse acted unintentionally to separate the reader from Amira and her feelings, Pinkney did write a believable 12 year-old girl, whose narrative voice shone through.
Rep: Black Muslim Sudanese MC and SCs
Content Warnings
Moderate: Medical content, Grief, Violence, Animal death, Gun violence, Genocide, Death, Excrement, and Death of parent
Minor: Drug use, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Sexism, Pregnancy, Injury/Injury detail, Ableism, and War
Minor: childbirth, loss of a loved one, child brides
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